Chilean media reported that a man called Oscar Munoz found the remains on October 19, 2003 at an abandoned settlement called La Noria in the Atacama Desert.

The remains were found near an abandoned church wrapped in a white cloth. According to the Daily Mail, a Chilean newspaper reported that the skeleton was "no bigger than 15cm [the size of a pen]. It was a creature with hard teeth, a bulging head with an additional odd bulge on top. Its body was scaly and of dark color. Unlike humans, it had nine ribs."

Since the remains of the "Atacama humanoid," nicknamed "Ata," were discovered, there have been speculations about its identity and nature. Some have suggested Ata was the aborted fetus of a human or a monkey. Others have suggested that it was an alien species.

The new documentary film, Sirius, however, claims that DNA tests performed by experts have confirmed that the mummified remains are human.

Prior to Monday's premier of the film, there were widespread speculations of a major breakthrough in the search for extraterrestrial beings. ET and UFO enthusiasts speculated that that the film would unveil evidence showing the remains to be alien.

The filmmakers deliberately fueled expectations of a major breakthrough in the search of extraterrestrial life. PR for the film had claimed "paradigm shifting physical evidence of a medically and scientifically analyzed DNA sequenced humanoid creature of unknown classification."

But before he performed the DNA tests, Garry Nolan, director of stem cell biology at Stanford University's school of Medicine California, said; "My interest, frankly, is to disprove that it's anything unusual or anything paranormal. I would like to prove that this is human [and] just an interesting mutation. In every situation with scientists, your reputation's at stake. I have every expectation that even doing this is going to lead to some ribbing from some of my colleagues."

The test's results presented in the film refuted claims that Ata was an alien. It also contradicted claims that it was a human or monkey fetus. According to results of scientific analysis of DNA samples from the bone marrow, the remains were those of a mutant male human that survived for six to eight years after birth.

Nolan said : "I can say with absolute certainty that it is not a monkey. It is human - closer to human than chimpanzees. It lived to the age of six to eight. Obviously, it was breathing, it was eating, it was metabolizing. It calls into question how big the thing might have been when it was born... The DNA tells the story and we have the computational techniques that allows us to determine, in very short order, whether, in fact, this is human... The sequence that we got from the mitochondria [energy factories of cells] tells us with extremely high confidence that the mother was an indigenous Indian from the Chilean area. The other thing that immediately fell out of the analysis is that it's male. It probably died in the last century, if I were to make a guess."

Besides addressing the question of the origins of Ata, the film, by the Emmy-winning director Amardeep Kaleka, also examines claims of ET and UFO phenomena. It explores claims about secret UFO files and efforts to get the US government to disclose knowledge about advanced alternative energy and propulsion technologies that are allegedly being suppressed by vested interests in current fossil fuel-based technology.

The film, narrated by actor Thomas Jane, includes interviews with witnesses who claim access to classified information about alien visitations to Earth and that governments are suppressing information about alternative energy sources.

Greer said: "There have been attempts to bring this information out for over 60 years. Here we sit with the world still burning oil and gas and coal, when we have had technology, sciences and all the information we need to have had a completely new civilization."